


Forever a Lightwood-Bane

by Strangeandstruggling



Category: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27001834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strangeandstruggling/pseuds/Strangeandstruggling
Summary: The Lightwood-Bane family has their entire life to spend together, from baking disasters to teenage rebellion to demon fighting.Unfortunately, some of them have more time than others.A collection of stories from the Lightwood-Bane household throughout the years.
Relationships: Magnus Bane & Alec Lightwood & Max Lightwood-Bane & Rafael Lightwood-Bane, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 10
Kudos: 86





	Forever a Lightwood-Bane

There were many dangers in the Lightwood-Bane household, including demon-possessed warlocks portaling in, an on-edge Alec Lightwood-Bane pulling out a seraph blade at every noise, Max Lightwood-Bane accidentally summoning minor demons, Uncle Jace having an obsession with teaching irresponsible 7-year-old children how to use a knife, greater demons/father-in-laws trying to communicate with them, and, of course, Max and Rafael Lightwood-Bane attempting to bake a cake.

“By the Angel, you’re worse than Izzy,” Alec mumbled under his breath as his husband waved his hands to put out the fire that was moving away from the oven.

“You know Max, I could just teach you to summon a cake. Maybe you wouldn’t burn down our apartment that way.”

“Please don’t teach my child how to magically steal a cake.”

“It’s not stealing when you leave money in its place.”

Alec sighed and scooped up Max into his arms, something that only Alec was able to do anymore. “Don’t listen to your Papa, Blueberry. Stealing is bad.

“Can I steal a cake?” Rafael went over to the oven to inspect what he had burned. He tried to look in the still-hot oven and Magnus had to pull him away. ”Uncle Jace taught me how to sneak around, so I could steal it the mundane way.”

Alec glared out the window, wishing that it wasn’t against the law to kill your parabatai. “No, Rafe. Stealing is bad no matter how you do it.”

Instead of listening to his dad, Rafael turned to Magnus. “Papa, can I steal a cake?”

Magnus just shrugged and smiled at his husband.

“What about this,” Alec said. “If you two help me and Papa clean up all your cake supplies, we can make popcorn and watch a movie.”

“Only if we don’t watch Aladdin.” Max had recently taken a liking to the Disney movie, presumably because he had decided that he was a younger version of the genie, and Rafe had consequently decided that he hated the movie.

“I like movies!” Max shouted excitedly and wiggled his way out of Alec’s arms. He picked up the bag of flour that was sitting on the counter and made a show of putting it back in the cabinet. “I cleaned!”

~~~

“Dad!” A thirteen-year-old Rafael shouted from the floor of the living room. “Max is cheating again!”

“It’s not cheating. I could use my magic in a normal fight, so why can’t I use it fighting against you?”

“Because I’m not a demon who you’re trying to kill.”

Alec walked in from the kitchen, holding papers that he had brought home from his office in Alicante. “Who’s trying to kill who?”

“We were training with our swords and Max decided to switch to magic halfway through and I almost stabbed myself.”

“Rafe never specifically said we were only using swords. If he wanted to start drawing runes or using his bow I wouldn’t care.”

Alec set down the papers he was holding and went to grab his children’s swords instead. “Last I checked, you aren’t even supposed to be dueling in the house to begin with.”

“But the Institute is so crowded. It’s so much easier to train here.”

Alec was spared having to defend his abused living room carpet for the third time that week by a blue portal opening a few feet away from them. Magnus soon stepped out of it and was immediately attacked by his two children.

“Hi, Papa.”

When the two boys stepped away, Alec quickly kissed his husband. “How was work?”

“It was fine. The werewolves and vampires are fighting about something, but you’ll have to help me figure that out next week. I don’t feel like dealing with it right now.”

“Well, the only Downworlder-Shadowhunter alliance we have to worry about right now are these two,” Alec said, pointing to his kids.

“Max tried to kill me.”

“No, I didn’t. Rafe just got knocked off balance, which was completely unrelated to the small amount of magic that I used.”

“Didn’t your dad tell you to only train at the Institute?” Magnus went to his bedroom to drop off the things he had brought home with him and the rest of his family followed him. “If I have to replace the carpet one more time because a knife ripped it in half I’m going to get the bright rug that all of you hate.”

“Fine, can we go to the Institute now?” 

Max decided to contribute to Rafael’s request. “I’ll make a portal and we can go now.”

“We’re eating dinner soon.”

“Please?”

Magnus and Alec looked at each other in silent conversation. Max and Rafe stood together hopefully, already forgetting their previous argument.

“Be home in 45 minutes,” Alec said, giving in to the pleading. “But let your papa make you a portal. I don’t want to spend another hour looking for you if you end up in the London Institute instead.”

“That was forever ago,” Max said.

“That was a month ago.” Magnus went back out to the living room and opened a portal. “Find Aunt Clary to send you home when you’re done, okay?”

“Okay!” Max stepped through the opened portal, Rafael following him. When they were gone, Magnus closed the portal and went back to his husband.

“I appreciate you standing up for me,” Alec said, wrapping his arms around Magnus, “but if you buy that rug, there will be consequences.”

~~~

“Please, Max?”

Max hushed Rafael, who was standing in his younger brother’s room, fully dressed. Max, who was laying in his bed wearing sweatpants, was quickly getting annoyed with his brother. “I’m not portaling you out! If you want to sneak out so bad do it the Shadowhunter way.”

“You know just as well as I do that Dad and Papa have runes and wards all over the apartment to stop that from happening.”

“And you don’t think Papa knows whenever I create a portal? We’ll both be grounded if he finds out.”

“But you portal George in all the time. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Yeah, because both our dads and Uncle Simon and Aunt Izzy know that I’m doing that. And I’m not doing that in the middle of the night!”

“I’ll do all your chores for a week.”

“I don’t care, I’m not doing it.”

“A month?”

“Rafael!”

In the room next to Max’s, Magnus was laying in his bed, wrapped around his husband. “Do you think we should tell them that we can hear them?”

Alec pretended to consider this for a second, before replying. “No, I want to see who wins. Plus, we can mess with them tomorrow morning.”

Magnus made a noise in agreement and smiled at his husband. “Good point.”

~~~

“Do you remember this?” Alec Lightwood-Bane held up a long-dried container of blue face paint. “You used to put this all over you because you wanted to be more like Max.”

“No, I did not.”

“Yes, you did,” Magnus said, walking into the room, where Alec, Rafael, and Max were sitting on the floor, surrounded by the entirety of Rafael’s possessions dumped around them. Rafael was moving out in a week, and Alec had decided that they needed the non-magic experience of packing. “I have pictures.”

“Burn them.”

Max perked up from the pile of blankets and pillows that he was “organizing.” “Where are they? I need to see them. I need proof that I’ve always been the superior brother.”

“You used to copy all my training, so I think that makes me superior.”

“I did, and now I’m a great fighter. You, on the other hand, were never able to master opening a portal.”

Rafael pointed a finger at his brother. “That’s not fair.”

Magnus sat down next to Rafael and picked up one of the shirts he was going through. “Get rid of this. You have at least three of this exact shirt, and it’s not even that nice.”

“I think it’s a good shirt,” Alec said, standing up for his son, who had taken to Alec’s fashion sense more than Magnus’s. 

“Of course you do, love. It’s a plain gray shirt. Looks exactly like your twenty plain gray shirts.”

“You love my twenty plain gray shirts.”

“Perhaps, but you know what I love seeing you in more?”

“Nope,” Rafael announced as loudly as he could. “I’m going to stop you right there. You’re absolutely not allowed to do that in my room.”

“What, Rafe, you don’t like your dads showing affection?” To annoy his children further, Magnus went across the room to lay in Alec’s lap.

Rafael made eye contact with his brother. “This is why I’m leaving.”

“You want to take me with you?”

“Maybe. I feel bad leaving you here by yourself.”

“I don’t think I’ll survive. They’re going to defeat my immortality just by being disgusting during dinner.”

“Max Lightwood-Bane: He was supposed to live forever, but his dads are annoying and persistent.”

Max shook his head solemnly. “Prepare my tombstone.”

~~~

Alec Lightwood-Bane looked up from his phone to see a giant portal opening up in the middle of his living room. He quickly put it down and stood up to greet the incoming guests.

Rafael stepped out first, holding two packages. Max followed behind him, waving the portal closed as soon as he was in the apartment.

“Hi, Dad,” Rafael said, setting the packages down and hugging his dad. “Where’s Papa?”

“Getting dressed,” he responded, turning to hug Max. “He’s been in there for about an hour now, so it shouldn’t be much longer.”

“You have any food? I forgot to get him a present until this morning so I didn’t have time to eat breakfast before Max came.”

“There’s the normal stuff in the fridge. I put Tessa and Jace in charge of bringing food for the party.”

With a nod, Rafael walked toward the kitchen, and Max and Alec sat down on the couch.

“Do I hear my lovely children?” Magnus walked out of the bedroom. 

Max stood up to give him a hug. “Your lovely child is here. Your slightly annoying child is in the kitchen eating all your food.”

“Oh good. There’s leftover lasagna in there that needs to be eaten before we get even more leftovers today. Rafael,” he shouted toward the kitchen, “eat the lasagna.”

Alec looked at Max and Magnus and felt the same mix of emotions he felt every time he looked at them recently. He was always shocked to see that they looked practically the same age. Rafael could still pass as Max’s older brother, but Alec looked almost humorously older than the rest of them.

From across the apartment, the doorbell rang and Rafael shouted that he would get the door. In walked Clary and Jace followed by Simon and Isabelle. Alec quickly walked over to his siblings, who hadn’t been together the three of them since the last birthday. Simon made a beeline for Max, who was the only one who kept up with the tv shows that they religiously watched. Magnus went over to Clary, who had somehow ended up with half of what the four of them brought.

“Happy Birthday, Magnus!” Clary very willingly gave part of what she was holding to Magnus, who helped her put down everything. “How old are you now? 50? 3000?” She giggled when Magnus rolled his eyes at the far-off guesses. 

“I don’t even know at this point, Biscuit. And math of any kind is strictly forbidden on my birthday.”

From the other side of the apartment, another portal opened, and the group slowly made their way back to the living room to meet Tessa and Jem. Almost immediately after Tessa closed their portal, Catarina and Ragnor opened portals and stepped into the living room. After everyone put the items they brought in the kitchen, they all settled in the living room, Magnus summoning another couch so they could all fit comfortably. Alec found a spot next to Rafael.

“How have you been, Rafe? Are your missions going well? Are you being careful?”

“No, I’ve just been running into hoards of demons with no protection,” Rafael deadpanned. “I wanted to spice it up a bit. Not risking my life more than the rest of Shadowhunters was getting boring.” At Alec’s slightly panicked expression, he laughed. “Dad, I’m fine. I know what I’m doing. You had already saved the world, like, fifteen times by my age. I can do standard patrols just fine.”

“I know. I just worry about you. Your papa does too. Why can’t you make potions like your brother instead? That’s a lot safer.”

“Max regularly summons demons.”

Alec hushed him. “I’m trying to forget about that part.”

“Then why don’t you just forget about the demon-hunting part of my job? Just pretend I train all day.”

“Oh, yes. My child plays with swords for a living. So reassuring.”

~~~

“Can you take back your position of Consul? Every time I visit Mina she demands I bring her food because ‘I have to serve my Consul.’ It’s annoying.” Rafael scooped more pasta onto his plate. He was sitting back at his usual place at the table, visiting his dads with Max. Alec had insisted that they visit, saying that he had nothing to do now that he had retired from Consul and passed down the main responsibilities of the Downworlder-Shadowhunter Alliance to Rafe and Max. Magnus said this was in no way true, and that he had been spending all his time with Jace, who had decided to let his children and the Lovelace-Lightwood children fight over the New York Institute. Regardless, Rafe and Max had more-than-willingly decided to spend the weekend at home with their dads.

“Your dad was just as bad when he was appointed to Consul. ‘I’m the Consul, can you get me a drink, please? I’m the Consul, I need you to cuddle me.’”

“Actually, I organized a surprise wedding for you when I was appointed to Consul, but sure, focus on that.”

“Of course. Thank you, my love.” Magnus leaned over to kiss his husband. 

“Really?” Max said. “In front of my salad?”

Rafael nodded in agreement with his brother and Magnus and Alec laughed, and it was as if a day hadn’t passed since Max and Rafe were both living in the apartment.

After they finished eating, they all stood up to clear the table out of habit from Alec’s old teachings of “just because you live with two warlocks doesn’t mean you have to rely on magic for basic tasks, your Papa’s just lazy.”

Magnus whispered to Alec, telling him to go wait in the living room and that they would clean up. Alec obliged, heading to the couch.

“I’ll clean the kitchen,” Max announced. “You old folk go relax.”

“I’m two years older than you.”

“I guess I just age better.”

“You don’t age.”

Max just smiled and went to the kitchen. Rafael and Magnus followed after Alec to the living room but paused in the doorway when they saw that Alec’s eyes were already closed.

Rafael’s energy drained when he saw his dad. “How is he?” He whispered to Magnus.

Magnus sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “He’s fine. Just tired all the time. I didn’t mention it to you kids because I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Is there something to worry about?”

“No. I don’t think so. At least not with your dad.” Rafael gave Magnus a concerned look. “Your Uncle Simon isn’t doing great. I don’t think there’s anything too bad, but George has been panicking. I think he’s come over here nearly every day asking if there’s something I can do.”

Rafael remained silent, staring at his dad. It was hard to see him like this. He was so different from the Alec he remembered, who patiently taught him and Max how to hold a bow and safely fall onto the living room carpet. 

Finally, he spoke again. “You’ll let me know if he gets worse, right?”

“Of course.”

~~~

Alec Lightwood-Bane and Clary Herondale were holding onto each other and sobbing by an open casket, silently begging each other to not be the next one to leave. Another parabatai, another husband, was gone, leaving the two unlikely friends to mourn together, both without their siblings and parabatai. 

A blond boy came up to them and tapped Clary on the shoulder. He had to be at least sixty by now, but Magnus still saw a 4-year-old boy with a wooden sword, who wanted to save the world just like his parents. Now, he towered over his mother as she turned away from Alec and embraced her son. 

Two more boys followed him, both around sixty as well, even though only one looked like it. They passed Clary and pulled their father close to them.

Rafael lifted his head from his dad’s shoulder and looked over at Magnus, who was still standing across the room, almost afraid to look at another body, as if not looking at him would make it fake and protect his love from more heartbreak. Rafael gestured to Magnus, beckoning him over, and Magnus walked over there, passing the countless Shadowhunters who had shown up to say goodbye to the great Jonathan Herondale.

He wrapped his arms around his husband and his children and prayed to anyone that was listening that his Alec would always be there to hold onto.

~~~

Magnus Lightwood-Bane stepped out of his bedroom for the first time in eleven hours, having to be pulled out by Max so he could eat something. Jem and Brother Enoch had assured him that Alec would be fine, and Alec had squeezed his hand in confirmation. 

Rafael handed Magnus a plate of food and sat down on one side of him, Max on the other. The two brothers had been crying together just moments ago but they pulled it together for their dad. 

“Papa,” Max started, “do you know what I realized today? I had already gone home to grab clothes from my apartment, and I realized that I could have just as easily summoned them here. I didn’t need to pack anything, but 18 years of living with Dad had ingrained into my brain that I wasn’t allowed to be lazy and use magic. I blame you for that.”

Max let out a sigh of relief when he heard his dad laughing, even as little as it was. “You know,” Magnus said, “he was never like that until you kids. We met because him and your aunts and uncles always needed me to perform magic for them. And I used magic for everything when we went on our first vacation. But then we adopted Blueberry and I had to go buy everything like a mundane. I blame it on his strict Shadowhunter parents. Though I suppose my father is a greater demon, so I don’t have room to judge.”

“I definitely like Grandma Maryse better than Asmodeus,” Max said.

Rafe forced Magnus to eat more before talking. “Was anything else different about him when you met?”

“Definitely.” Magnus almost smiled before he remembered the state that his husband was currently in. “When we met, your dad was the most awkward, shy, closeted boy I had ever met. I practically had to force him to take off his glamour when we went on our first date. And then later, on that same date, he fell down the stairs.” He looked towards his bedroom. “I don’t think I ever told him that I saw that. But I still fell in love with him. And I don’t think it’s possible for me to ever stop loving him.”

Magnus held back a sob and stood up. “I’m going to go see him again.” Max and Rafe let him go, leaving his half-finished plate behind.

Back in the bedroom, Magnus returned to his spot by Alec’s side. Only Tessa, Jem, and Brother Enoch were in the room, but it was suddenly too crowded for Magnus. “Can we have a moment, please?” He managed to speak without crying, but he figured that wouldn’t last too much longer. Jem and Tessa, who knew all too well what Magnus was going through, nodded and urged the Silent Brother out of the room.

“My love,” Magnus said, his voice cracking. “How are you feeling?” Alec moved his hand slightly, grabbing onto Magnus’s. “I love you, Alexander. I hope I told you that enough. And I hope you know that I meant it, every time I said it. And every time I didn’t. I’ve never stopped loving you, even for a second. And I never will. Even centuries from now, I’ll still love you just as much as I do now. Just as much as I did on the day I married you. Do you remember it? I remember every second of it. You remembered everything I wanted for my perfect wedding, and you made it happen. And it was the best day of my life. But do you want to know something? Even if you hadn’t remembered a single thing, even if I had married you in the basement of the Hotel Dumort with only a few grumpy vampires, it would still be the best day of my life. And that’s impressive, considering all the things I’ve done in my life. But you, my love. Out of all the things that have happened to me, you were the best one, Alexander Lightwood-Bane.”

~~~

“Papa, are you home?” Max Lightwood-Bane shut a portal behind him as he appeared in his dad’s living room.

“Bedroom,” Magnus responded. 

Max walked into the bedroom and embraced his father. Max was relieved to see that Magnus had done his hair today, though he was wearing an old hoodie instead of his usual attire. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, Blueberry. I went out with Tessa today.”

“How is she?”

“As well as expected. I think it’s helping her knowing that Jem and Will are finally together again. It’s been so long since they’ve seen each other.”

Max just nodded and sat down next to Magnus. They sat like that for what could have been a few minutes, or maybe a few hours. Being together made everything so much more bearable, even with the man that was so obviously missing from the room.

Magnus was the first to break the silence. “Have you talked to your brother recently?”

“I stopped by the Institute before I came here.”

“How is he?”

“It depends on how you look at it. He forgot that Dad isn’t here, so maybe he’s doing better than us.” Max forced a laugh, but it broke halfway through, turning into a sob.

“Oh, Max.” Magnus pulled his son closer to him, and Max buried his face into Magnus’s chest.

“It’s not fair,” Max said, tears pouring onto Magnus’s shirt. “He shouldn’t have to die before me. If I live forever he should too. I shouldn’t get endless centuries when he gets 70 years. I don’t deserve it.”

“My baby,” Magnus said, beginning to cry with his son. “You need to know that this isn’t your fault. You can’t trade your immortality any more than Rafe can trade his mortality. But it’s not fair, is it? It’s not fair that we have to go the rest of our lives without them. But I promise you that we can. We’ll figure out how to do it. You know why? Because we’re going to do it together. I’m not going to leave you, my little blueberry. Your Papa is always going to be right here, whenever you need me. I love you so much, my baby.”

“I love you too, Papa.”

~~~

Ave Atque Vale, Rafael Lightwood-Bane.

Magnus and Max Lightwood-Bane were once again at a funeral, watching another body burn, clinging onto each other as if they were the last person they had. And, though Tessa, Catarina, and Ragnor were just mere feet away, and a new generation of Herondale and Lightwood children were scattered around, it felt like it was just the two of them. The two remaining Lightwood-Banes, who would stay remaining on the earth for centuries to come without the other half of their family. 

Near the pyre, though they remained unseen to the warlocks, a boy with black hair and blue eyes was reunited with his son. They stood together, holding each other just like Magnus and Max, knowing that they would always be together, and knowing that their family was safe.

And they knew that whenever it was time for Magnus and Max to leave, hopefully many, many years from now, Alec Lightwood-Bane would still be waiting for his husband, and Rafael Lightwood-Bane would welcome his brother, and the children would be reunited with their parents.

One day, they would be whole again.

~~~

Max Lightwood-Bane had sold his apartment and moved back into his childhood home. Though he had lived alone for years, and he could portal anywhere he wanted, his papa suddenly felt too far.

Max and Magnus sat together on the couch, Max’s head on Magnus’s shoulder. Max had convinced Magnus to watch his tv shows with him, and Max was just barely able to watch them without talking about them with Simon or having Rafael make fun of the unrealistic action. They were both wearing sweatpants and plain gray shirts, Magnus getting his from what used to be Alec’s side of the closet.

Suddenly, Max grabbed the remote and paused the show. Magnus looked at Max and waited for him to speak.

“Does it ever get easier?” Max asked. 

“Sometimes.” Magnus shifted to face his son. “Sometimes you’ll realize you’ve gone an entire month without thinking of them. Other times you’ll spend the entire day wishing they were here, and you’ll feel guilty for ever feeling happy without them. But then you’ll remember that there’s no reason to feel guilty because all they wanted was for you to be happy. And you will be.” 

Max nodded and leaned back into his father, still staring at the paused tv screen. “I miss them.”

“I know you do, Blueberry. I miss them too.”

They sat in silence, pressed into each other. Outside, they could hear the busy noises of Brooklyn, where Magnus and Alec fell in love, where Rafael and Max used to play together, where two dads taught their sons how to live. Where Magnus and Max still lived.

Though it felt like the world had been torn apart, it still moved on, healing from every disaster that struck it.

And, eventually, the Lightwood-Banes would heal as well.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! If you liked this, kudos and comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!


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